Falling Crystals
by Auraya-of-the-White
Summary: Secret Santa for tess.untitled. Prompt: Ice Skating. C/G friendship. One-shot. Brushing past Gillian, he murmured into her ear, "Marvelous. I really need to stop underestimating you."


**AN: Secret Santa present for tess . untitled. I can't write romance to save my life so I hope C/G friendship will be good enough! Belated Merry Christmas! :)**

**Unbetaed so excuse any mistakes.**

A small sprinkling of snowflakes fell from the darkening sky to join the piles of snow already lining the ground. Sucking a candy cane, Gillian turned away from the window with a sigh, looking at the mounds of paperwork dominating her desk. The beautiful winter weather beckoned to her. She had hoped to finish the stack before she took off to complete her annual plans for Christmas Eve.

"Take off, love," Cal interrupted her musings by sticking his head into her office, "You deserve a break."

He had his black coat on and his scarf loosely swung over his neck.

"Seriously Foster, that paperwork isn't going anywhere."

Acquiescing, Gillian grabbed her red pea coat off the back of her office chair, pulled on her ivory knitted mittens, a matching scarf, and earmuffs.

"Mittens?" Cal raised his eyebrows.

"They keep my fingers warm!" she replied defensively.

Cal grinned as they left the office, flipping the light switch on the way.

"What are your plans for tonight?" she inquired.

He responded, "I've got Em tonight," and added grumpily, "I'm sure she has some bloody plan involving spreading Christmas cheer."

Gillian laughed lightly, and shook her head. She paused, scrutinizing Cal's face in the dimly lit hall, something feeling off to her. Was that a lie? Shoving away her misgivings, she strode down the hall casting one last backward glance at Cal's lonesome crooked figure.

Briefly hesitating, she faced him and called out, "Why don't you join me? Em can wait."

Gillian saw the gratitude flicker for a microsecond on his face and let the matter drop.

Cal linked his arm with Gillian's and asked jollily, "Where are we off to?"

"Do you own skates?"

* * *

Luck was on their side. Ever since Cal had received ice skates several years ago as a present, they sat forgotten in a corner of his garage. Gillian went to grab her pair first from her car, reaching inside her passenger seat and pulling out a now off-white, rather beaten pair of skates. She double checked the blade guards, insuring they were securely in place, and threw the skates over her shoulder. They made a quick stop at Cal's to dig out his, brushing off the cobwebs before heading to the nearest metro station. Parking was impossible in downtown DC and roads were a nightmare with this much snow.

* * *

Exiting the Smithsonian station, they strolled across the Mall, their breaths misting in the crisp air. Sandwiched between the Natural Museum of History and the Gallery of Art, lay a garden. The black iron gate was securely locked against any late night trespassers. A glittering statue, a tree made entirely of silver, stood near the front gate. The full moon reflected off its branches casting a shimmering shadow on the colorful sculpture of a house nearby.

"The sculpture garden?" Cal questioned.

Gillian shot a grin in his direction, but remained silent.

"You do know that it's already closed."

"Don't worry. I do this every year. It's never closed to me," she smirked.

Cal eyeballed the tall fence doubtfully. Picturing Foster tossing her skates over the barrier and clambering over the fence after them came difficult to him.

Gillian laughed at the expression on Cal's face, his disbelief leaking through. She withdrew a ring of keys from her purse. Moments later the gate was unlocked.

Brushing past Gillian, he murmured into her ear, "Marvelous. I really need to stop underestimating you."

She smiled widely, "I still know some people from my days at the Pentagon."

They ambled towards the center of the garden, their steps muffled by the snow. The large fountain in the core of the garden stood frozen still, covered with a fine dusting from the gently falling flurries.

"Here." Gillian guided Cal to a snow covered bench, sitting down to lace up her skates. "Don't tie them too loose. You need the ankle support," she commented, suppressing a grin as Cal struggled with his ice skates.

She slid off her blade guards and stood up. Cal raised his head and met her gaze, the vision before him stunning as he lost his breath for a moment. The moonlight reflected off the snow creating a beautifully glistening world with Gillian Foster's help.

"Let me help you." Gillian outstretched her gloved hand slipping it perfectly into Cal's. "Walking with skates can be tricky."

And indeed it was. Cal stumbled along; grabbing her arm like it was a lifeline until they finally reached the rim of the temporary rink.

"You go first. I need to catch my breath," Cal told Gillian.

"What? We haven't even done the fun part yet!"

Cal nodded, his knees still shaky, "I'm gonna wait here."

Gillian shrugged and acquiesced. Cal let a smile escape as Gillian floated across the ice. She was a wonderful ice skater, all grace and beauty. A childish smile of glee crept onto her face as she danced swiftly, spinning into a tight spiral. Then, Gillian gathered speed with wide strokes only to move into a toe jump that looked professional. Finishing up, she skated to a quick hockey stop in front of Cal spraying snow at him.

"Hey!" he protested lightly, shaking the snow from his hair. "That was beautiful, love," he added seriously.

"Really?" A smile soared across her face. "Come on!"

Cal clutched her tightly as he stepped onto the ice for the first time. His skates seemed to wobble out sideways and he fell hard and fast, pulling Gillian with him.

"Oomph!" The breath whooshed out of him.

Gillian burst into laughter at Cal's astonished expression.

"You knew it wasn't going to be easy!" she teased.

He grumbled good-naturedly, "Well, after you skated so bloody fantastically…"

"I've been skating for years! And with professional lessons!" She hauled Cal back to his feet and began skating backwards towing him along.

"What was that?" he cocked his head, analyzing Gillian's face.

"What was what?" she retorted innocently. At Cal's look, she sighed, "I supposed I won't be able to convince you to just drop it?"

"Not a chance, love."

Gliding slowly, Gillian turned to tuck her arm in the crook of Cal's. Moving in unison, Cal fell into the rhythm, following her lead.

"Ice-skating at the sculpture gardens with my dad has been a tradition ever since I could walk. Before things went downhill," her voice faltered, "Later I continued coming by myself. A reminder of better times, you could say. I do have some good memories," she paused. "But I've made my peace with that," she commented with a slight one shouldered shrug that Cal barely caught in the dark. "Your turn," she swiftly changed the subject startling Cal.

Gillian parked them on the rim of the make-shift rink before he fell again. The night was quiet and still, all sound muffled by a blanket of snow. Gillian leaned forward, her hand resting softly on Cal's shoulder.

"Something's been bothering you lately," she met his eyes, "Don't think I didn't notice. You lied about having Emily."

Cal stared back, admiring the snowflakes caught in her eyelashes while stifling his surprise. She had talent; she was his partner after all.

"Em's with her mum. They went on holiday together about a week ago," he supplied, "And you know why I'm not a fan of the holiday season."

Gillian nodded as Cal looked down at his hands. "Normally Em is around. Now," he shrugged, "I'm not especially cheerful." He blinked hard, focusing on a sculpture in the distance.

Gillian wrapped an arm around his shoulder in a hug and offered with a soft expression, "Spend the night. My guest room is always open to you. We can have Christmas together."

"Gill," Cal objected weakly.

"I'm serious. Christmas is about spreading joy. I'm making it my mission to cheer you up," she smiled radiantly.

"You're already off to a great start," Cal told her as they sat there watching the falling flakes while sharing in each other's warmth.

Gillian stood up suddenly. "Let's skate some more before we freeze into icicles." She dragged Cal back onto the ice despite his protests of sore ankles. "Don't be such a baby!"

At the happiness in Gillian's countenance, Cal was extremely pleased that he had never tossed the old ice skates from his garage.


End file.
